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[News-Heads]

(---------------)

[VO-NAT]

The U-S and Iraq are only a step away from war--
Saddam Hussein has decided he'll stay and fight, dismissing President Bush's 48- hour deadline to leave his country.
(---------------)
[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]

And Roanoke police are investigating a suspicious death.
[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=LEO]
[SS=None]
Isolated light rain showers will continue across the region this afternoon with a better chance of heavier showers late tomorrow. I'll have your hometown forecast.
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[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY 2-Shot]

[Iraq]

President Bush has told Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq, and today the Iraqi dictator delivered an answer.
Saddam says he's staying where he is, and preparing to fight.
The Iraqi leadership has rejected President Bush's ultimatum for
Saddam and his sons to leave Iraq or face war.
Iraqi television also says that mass demonstrations will take place around the country today in support of Saddam.
The demonstrators carried banners reading, "Saddam is Iraq, and Iraq is Saddam."
Stacy Case joins us now from Washington with the latest.
[LIVE=NEWSPATH/FULL]
[SUPER=01-Stacy Case/CBS News;]
[SUPER=05-Washington, DC;]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Justin Portz/U. S. Navy;]
[SUPER=05-Washington, DC;]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=back to you.]
((
It looks like Saddam Hussein will stay and fight.
On the heels of President Bush's 48 hour ultimatum to flee or face war,
the Iraqi leader appeared on television wearing his military uniform.
Hussein's son called on Mister Bush to leave office instead...and
threatened that if the U-S attacks Iraq, there will be no safe place
for "the wives and mothers" of those who fight his country.
sot: Bush
"the tyrant will soon be gone. the day of your liberation is near."
In an address to the nation and the Iraqi people last night...President
Bush accused the United Nations of not living up to its responsibilities
and said the U.S. had the sovereign right to disarm Iraq for the sake of
national security.
(natz troops)

For more than a quarter million U.S. troops poised to attack... it was
the message they've been waiting to hear.
sot: Justin Portz/U.S. Navy Ordnance Chief
"we have given them ample warning and ample amount of time."
And it was a message also heeded by the U.N. weapons inspectors...they
pulled out of Iraq today.
Around the world, reaction to the President's speech was swift and
predictable.
(natz of Chirac in French)
French leader Jacques Chriac said the ultimatum puts the future of a
region at stake.
But British Prime minister told his nation's parliament the crisis will
shape international politics for years to come.
))

[Chemical-War]

Iraq's weapons of mass destruction could include chemical or nerve agents, and biological materials.
So, soldiers and journalists will most likely be wearing protective suits as they head onto the battlefield.
Thalia Assuras has been training with the Fourth Infantry Divison in Fort Hood, Texas, and has this report.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Sgt. Bob Wolz/4th Infantry Division Chemical Unit; :30]
[SUPER=01-Thalia Assuras/CBS News; :51]
[SUPER=01-Staff Sgt. Juan Francis/4th Infantry Division Chemical Unit; 1:50]
[RUNS=2:26]
[OUT Q=Assuras, CBS News, Fort Hood, TX;]
((nat - Gas! Gas! Gas! (camera pans to thalia) stop! If you haven't
got your mask on right now, you're dead.
NINE SECONDS FROM THE FIRST WARNING IS ALL ANYONE WILL HAVE TO GET THEIR
GAS MASKS ON AND SEALED TIGHT .... AND STILL HAVE A CHANCE OF MAKING IT
OUT ALIVE IF SADDAM HUSSEIN DOES LAUNCH A CHEMICAL ATTACK.
(q&a;) T: Is nine seconds realistic? or you don't have any choice?
(Sergeant First Class, Bob Wolz/Division Chemical Section) 9 seconds is
reealistic// that's based on wind speeds and the way agent vapours
travel.
SO SOLDIERS AND JOURNALISTS WEAR THEIR GAS MASKS GUNSLINGER STYLE AND
STAY ALERT FOR THE WARNINGS THAT WILL HAVE THEM SCRAMBLING.
( Sgt. Bob Wolz:) If you see soldiers doingtht you better stop
breathing. close your eyes and put your mask on.
(STANDUP)

SOME PEOPLE WEAR GLASSES. YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET PRESCRIPTION INSERTS
WHICH IS WHAT I HAVE HERE. WHICH IS THE ONLY WAY TO SEE ONCE THIS MASK
IS ON IN ENOUGH TIME. BUT SO FAR, I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET IT ON IN 9
SECONDS. THERE'S BEEN SOME IMPROVEMENT, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO
PRACTICE A LOT.
THE MASK IS JUST ONE PIECE OF PROTECTION. THESE SOLDIERS OF THE 4TH
INFANTRY DIVISION'S CHEMICAL UNIT, EXPECT TROOPS WILL BE IN WHAT'S
CALLED "MISSION ORIENTED PROTECTIVE POSTURE TWO" OR "MOPP 2" FOR THE
INITIAL STAGES OF THE WAR.
(bite - Sgt Wolz,) Duirng the persian gulf war last time, my unit the
entire 100 hours that we were in, we were in mopp level 2, which is the
suit and the boots.
THE SUIT IS A GORTEX SHELL WITH A CHARCOAL LINING TO ABSORB CHEMICAL OR
OTHER VAPOURS ... NOT EASY TO PUT ON IN THE 8 MINUTES ALLOTED. (Nat -
various shots of us putting on the gear, tape 4)
MOVEMENT IS RESTRICTED. AND THEN THERE'S THE MOUTING HEAT WHICH IN THE
DESERT, COULD BE LIFE THREATENING.
Bite - Staff Sergeant Juan Francis, division chemical section It 'll
raise your body temperature about 10, 15 degrees inside the suit.// you
never get used to the heat. it's always hot, but you have to prepare
yourself mentally for it as well.
KEEPING HYDRATED THEN, IS ESSENTIAL BUT OF COURSE THAT RAISES A CRITICAL
QUESTION.

Guess what, you might be going to the bathroom in your //Yeah, that's
another class. (everyone laughing)
SOME LEVITY SEEMS ESSENTIAL TOO DURING THESE SURVIVAL LESSONS AGAINST
LETHAL WEAPONS ...
(/impromptu news conference with commanding general who leaves and we
barely get the camera on, let alone the gear)
(ending sequence/ Stop!//) You're dead. (thalia) i'm not sealed.
(Wolz) we're going to have to inject you.//T: I didn't have it fully
sealed. I have potential.
TTA, CBS NEWS, FORT HOOD, TEXAS.))

[Field-Trips]

The heightened national state of alert means no more school field trips for Roanoke students.
Superintendent Wayne Harris informed principals this morning that there will be no school-related travel out of the country or to locations like Washington, D.C., New York, Virginia Beach or Norfolk.
He says local trips to places like Explore Park may still be permitted.

[Roanoke-Death]

Roanoke Police are investigating a suspicious death on Orange Avenue.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The man's body was found in a parking lot near the Earl Scheib Paint and Body Shop around ten o'clock last night.

There's no word yet on his identity or the cause of death.
But workers in the area say they believe the victim was a homeless man and may have been beaten to death.
(-----------------)

[Stillwater]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Workers at a Rockbridge County textile company say they're being told the business will close in April.
Sillwater Inc. in Goshen employs approximately three-hundred people.
Town officials say management at the plant has not confirmed the closing to them, but say that 30-people were laid off yesterday.
Officials say if they do lose the plant, it will have a big impact on the small community.
News 7 called Stillwater but they have not responded.
[Tease1]
[HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Up next on the newscast, Indiana executes a Gulf War veteran who claims Iraqi nerve gas led him to murder...
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]
and a North Carolina tobacco farmer holds off police as he parks his tractor in the reflecting pond of the Lincoln Memorial.
(---------------)
[music up full]
[comm1]

[Vet-Execution]

As the U-S sits on the verge of another war with Saddam Hussein, a veteran of the Gulf War was executed this morning for the murder of a female soldier.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-San Angelo, TX/1995;]

Both President Bush and the U-S Supreme Court refused to intervene in the case of Louis Jones.
The veteran claimed his exposure to Iraqi nerve gas caused him to kidnap, rape and kill 19- year- old Private Tracie McBride in 19-95.
Jones claims he suffered severe personality- altering brain damage from exposure to the nerve gas.
But no evidence of that was presented during his trial.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think anybody]
((IRENE MCBRIDE/VICTIM'S MOTHER: I THINK ANYBODY IN THE MILITARY WOULD BE APPALLED. TO USE YOUR MILITARY CAREER FOR AN EXCUSE TO MURDER SOMEBODY. ))
[SUPER=01-Irene McBride/Victim's Mother;]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=to murder somebody.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The murder happened two years after Jones' honorable discharge from the army.
(------------)

[29th-Division]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Some of the American soldiers who helped liberate France during World War Two are upset with that nation today.
A proclamation from the 29th Division Association states the group's members cannot understand why France would not stand with its old allies at the United Nations.
Representative Bob Goodlatte shared the proclamation with the French Ambassador and President Bush.

[DC-Ax]

Several blocks of Constitution Avenue in the nation's capital are closed off today.
The precautions aren't because of the war, but because of a man on a TRACTOR.
(----------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC;]

The man drove his tractor into about three feet of water in a pond near the Washington Monument yesterday, and has been there ever since.
It's not clear exactly what the man is protesting, but police say they are communicating with him.
Law enforcement sources have identified the man as Dwight Watson, a tobacco farmer from North Carolina.
(--------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Police say a large area around a major roadway near the pond is
closed off, because of concerns the man may have explosives.

[11Pulaski-Apartments]

Some residents of an apartment house in Pulaski are hot, because their water isn't.
A dispute over the rent with some tenants has apparently led the landlord to cut off the heat and hot water.
Myranda Stephens has more.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=it makes a man]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski; :00]
[SUPER=01-Stephan Steele/Tenant; :11]
[SUPER=01-Callie Edwards/Tenant; :33]
[SUPER=@Myranda2; 1:25]
[RUNS=1:33]
[OUT Q=news 7, pulaski.]
(([SOT 46:01][COVER BITE!!!]
[RUNS :03]
((IT MAKES A MAN HOT, MAKES ANYBODY HOT 4604))
It's actually what's NOT hot that's making residents at the Wallace Apartments steaming mad.
[SOT 49:31]
[RUNS :03]
((OH, IT'LL TURN ON BUT IT AIN'T GO GET HOT 4934))
The nearly dozen who live in the building have been without heat or hot water for nearly a week.
The owner, Ima Wallace, says she didn't pay the gas bill because she didn't receive everyone's rent.
But, to people like Ernest and Callie Edwards, who PAID their rent, that's not an excuse.
[SOT 53:07]
[RUNS 15]
(( I'VE ALWAYS DONE WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO AS A TENANT AND AS A LANDLADY SHE SHOULD DO WHAT SHE HAS SAID IN THE CONTRACT 5322))
Wallace's attorney says both his client and the residents are victims of a legal battle.
He says the new owner, Holly Radcliff told the tenants that they had to move out by the end of the month, so some refused to pay their rent.
Radcliff denies saying that, and says she's NOT the owner until April anyway, so the problem is not in her hands.
In the meantime, many of the residents have moved out or say they will.
[SOT 58:51]
[RUNS:07]
(( I HAVE FOUND SOMEWHERE BUT I CAN'T GET IT UNTIL WE GET OUR CHECK TO PAY THE DEPOSIT AND OUR RENT 58:58))
Which means the Edwards will just have to deal with the cold...at least until the first of the month.
Myranda Stephens, News 7, Pulaski.))
[Tease2]
[SOFT MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Coming up after this short break,
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
the people behind the Oscars say the show will go on even if America goes to war.
(-----------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #2]

[Awards-War]

Producers of the Academy Awards say the show WILL go on this Sunday, even if there's a war with Iraq.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Hollywood, CA;]

Preparations for the Oscars are under way along Hollywood Boulevard.
Private guards are stationed every 15- feet in front of the Kodak Theatre, where the awards show will take place.
Meanwhile, people seem divided over whether the glitzy event should go on, if war is the backdrop.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I feel awkward]
((EMAOEL COHEN/STORE OWNER: FEEL AWKWARD. SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAS TO HAPPEN WHEN THERE IS A LOT OF SUFFERING ON THE WAY." ))
((TOM CLARK/TOURIST: PEOPLE ARE STRESSED. THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, SO IN ORDER TO DIVERT THEIR MIND FROM IT, IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO HAVE THE ENTERTAINMENT. ))
[SUPER=01-Emaoel Cohen/Store Owner;]
[SUPER=01-Tom Clark/Tourist; :09]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=have the entertainment.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The L-A-P-D says demonstrators on both sides of the war issue already have their designated locations, and will NOT be in sight of the Oscar festivities.
(------------)

[Stocks]

On Wall Street at Noon, the DOW was UP 33 points. The NASDAQ has lost two.
[super=460-x/33/y/2;]

[tease3]
[SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Coming up next in Sports, if war breaks out, it could postpone the N-C-Double-A basketball tournament..
(----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
and Steve Mason takes us to Carolina for an in depth look at J.J. Redick.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]

[S-NCAA]

The N-C-A-A men's basketball tournament is slated to begin in earnest on Thursday.
But that could all change if war with Iraq begins this week.
N-C-A-A president Myles Brand said yesterday that he will consider postponing games in the men's and women's tournaments and other national championships.
Brand admitted that the N-C-A-A was checking the availability of arenas and hotels for the days after the first and second rounds are scheduled to be completed.
He says the safety of athletes and fans are the primary consideration.
As it stands now, the tournament is still set for Your Hometown Station.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[GO TO PINNACLE THUR. AFTERNOON]
The game plan is for coverage from CBS Sports to begin here on WDBJ-7 at 12:10 on Thursday.
N.C. State opens the event, and U-Conn will close the afternoon session against BYU.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[GO TO PINNACLE THUR. NIGHT]
The night session features J.J. Redick and Duke against Colorado State. There will be bonus coverage of the other games when warranted.
(------------)

[S-Redick]

The A-C-C tournament was a bonus for Redick.
Steve Mason get us up to the date on the star of the title game in this week's Atlantic Coast Connection.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Greensboro, NC/ACC Tournament Championship; :00]
[SUPER=01-J.J. Redick/Averaging 14.9 Points a Game; :10]
[SUPER=01-Gary Williams/Maryland Head Mens' Basketball Coach; :53]
[SUPER=@Steve1; 1:04 ]
[RUNS=1:37]
[OUT Q=Atlantic Coast Conection"]
(-------------)

((While J.J. Redick celebrated his first ACC tournament title, he has endured one net loss in his first conference season, fatigue.
((:))
J.J.'s explosion in the finals earned him praise from his coach, but Redick has paid a price for his nationally recognized talents. Defenses aren't the only ones watching his every move
((:))
ACC coaches know Redick as more than a shooter who made a team high 89 treys and hit 41 percent of them.
((:))
((:))
((STEVE MASON:))
((:))
Redick plans on taking a month off after the season before hopefully trying out for USA basketball. Steve Mason for your WDBJ-7 Atlantic Coast Connection.))

[S-Flames]

And the Liberty Women will put the nation's second longest winning streak on the line in Norfolk against 4th seeded Vanderbilt.
The Flames have won 22 straight, and the meeting with the Commodores marks the 6th consecutive time that Liberty has played an S-E-C team in the tournament.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Carey Green/Liberty Head Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:25]
[OUT Q=with them pretty well."]
(-----------------)

[S-Times]

(XXXXXXXXX)
[WIPE TO PINNACLE 12998]
The Flames found out yesterday that their game on Saturday will tip-off at 1pm in Norfolk.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[wipe to pinnacle 12997]
The Virginia Tech women will have an early breakfast for their 11am tip-off in West Lafayette, Indiana against Ga. Tech.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[wipe to pinnacle 12999]
The Virginia women also play on Saturday at one.
Their regional is in Knoxville.
(---------------)